Sky and BBC Studios announced this week they are expanding their partnership in New Zealand. A multi-year deal will give Sky audiences access to the best British content on BBC First across Sky, Neon, and free-to-air channel Sky Open.
BBC First will join the Sky channel line up from October 2024, bringing some great premium UK dramas to Sky customers. Selected content will also be available on Neon and Sky Open.
BBC First joins BBC UKTV, BBC Earth and CBeebies, alongside the BBC News channel.
The new channel will be home to the biggest dramas from the UK, premiering a mix of new titles and the latest seasons of audience favourites. BBC First is promising the best in British storytelling, with the best British talent on and off screen.
Among the titles coming to Sky audiences will be the much-anticipated detective thriller The Jetty starring Jenna Coleman (pictured above). Other launch programming will include Return to Paradise, the Australian spin-off of Death in Paradise, and the second season of the series Beyond Paradise starring Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton.
Sky chief executive Sophie Moloney said: “Sky customers will enjoy an expanded array of world-class British content through our renewed partnership with BBC Studios. We value what our customers value, and with UKTV being Sky’s number one entertainment channel with consistently high and growing viewership, we’re confident in the value this represents for customers.
“The renewed partnership also offers exclusive access to premium British drama on BBC First. Importantly, these rights extend across our portfolio of entertainment products, meaning our customers can enjoy great British content in whatever way they choose.”
Return to Paradise
BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand general manager Fiona Lang said: “We are delighted to grow our longstanding partnership with Sky with the addition of this stellar channel. New Zealand audiences have proven to have a huge appetite for British shows and we’re pleased to be able to partner with Sky to offer their customers more of what they want – the full suite of the best of the BBC from kids to entertainment, news, documentaries and drama.”
Under the deal, Sky’s #1 entertainment channel BBC UKTV will continue to offer audiences a curated selection of British entertainment including soap juggernauts EastEnders and Casualty, fan favourite quizcoms 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, QI and Would I Lie to You, plus celebrity chat shows The Jonathan Ross Show and The Graham Norton Show.
Sky audiences can also access factual shows from the most inspiring and passionate experts in the world on BBC Earth. That includes titles like Where The Wild Men Are and Life Below Zero. Pre-schoolers can see their favourite friends Hey Duggee, Bluey, and Sarah and Duck on CBeebies.
Channels and programming will be available across Sky Neon and Sky Open.
See also: BritBox business model – BBC global streaming CEO explains growth strategy
About BBC Studios ANZ
BBC Studios, a global content company with British creativity at its heart, is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group.
The BBC Studios business in Australia and New Zealand has nine channels: BBC First, BBC UKTV, BBC Earth, BBC News and CBeebies on Foxtel and Fetch TV in Australia; BBC Brit and BBC Kids on Fetch TV; and BBC UKTV, BBC Earth, BBC News and CBeebies on Sky TV in New Zealand with BBC First to come in October.
It distributes British content from the BBC and other British producers to free-to-air, subscription channels and SVOD platforms and works with partners to bring BBC Studios consumer products, home entertainment and live events to the local market, including for the global hit, Bluey.
The production arm in Sydney produces BBC formats for the local market, including Dancing with the Stars, Top Gear, The Office and Mastermind, and produces original series including Space 22.
The ANZ ad sales team offers domestic and international commercial opportunities across our broadcast and digital portfolio, including the all-new BBC.com.